Can you name any objectively unique human creations or thoughts that were not derived/inspired from another source? (lemmy.world)

submitted 5 months ago by j4k3@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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This is intended as a very abstract philosophical question.

Like Einstein with relativity was inspired by a man falling from a roof and a moving train. Most creative ideas seem to boil down to a person moving ideas across domains. Do you think this is always true even if the person is unwilling to admit the root thoughts, or perhaps they are completely unaware of the connections they subconsciously made? Is there truly a provably unique thought or is everything a product of experience?

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[-] sylver_dragon@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.

Humans don't exist in a vacuum, even if we think something is wholly our own, original idea, it likely pulled in stuff we don't even know it pulled in. This doesn't take away from the individual contribution of that inventor. There are lots of people who will see something and not think anything special about it. But, sometimes the right person sees the right thing and it kicks off a series of connections in their brain and they come up with something novel. But for that particular person's unique set of experiences, that novel thing may not have been created.

this post was submitted on 14 May 2024

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